Walking in the Rain
by infinitykat
Summary: How did Ani propose? My view on the events before that final scene of AOTC. P/A (obviously)
1. Default Chapter

**Walking in the Rain **

By infinitykat 

"When you're all alone,   
and you need a friend,   
someone to help you to the end,   
when you need someone to catch you when you fall,   
I'll be there through it all." 

A/N: Hi all. I was bored and wanted to write a story that "fills the gap". A sort of prequel to "Only in Dreams". It's just a long one chapter piece. Have a nice day. The parts in italics are either a quote from the AOTC book or a quote from a song. You'll be able to tell the difference. 

----- ---- --- -- - 

_As Anakin and Obi-Wan walked over to the exhausted Yoda, Padmé rushed in, running to Anakin and wrapping the sorely wounded young man in a tight, desperate hug. _

"A dark day, it is," Yoda said quietly. 

"Ani…" Padmé whispered. 

"Oh, Force, I thought I lost you out there," Anakin replied, sighing on her neck and making her shiver. 

"Shh…It's alright, everything…everything is going to be alright…" 

"Padmé" he breathed, and fainted in her arms. 

----- ---- --- -- - 

Two cloaked figures walked together in silence down the hospital corridor. Their deep magenta cloaks were quite a contrast to the blindingly white, clean walls. 

They passed door after door until they reached the end of the hall. One was left. The smaller figure nodded to the other and opened the door quietly. She slid into the room and closed the door behind her. 

A medical droid was standing at a bed in the center of the room. No decorations were on the walls, just more of brightness of what was the hall. The bed was the only furniture in the room, save a bedside table with a pitcher of water and a cup. The droid turned to the sound of her entry, but didn't seem to mind as it finished its work. 

As the droid rolled away, she could finally see whom she came to visit. The woman slowly approached the bed and sat down. 

A young man lay there, asleep. He was covered with a brown, scratchy blanket that concealed his bare chest. His arms were above the blanket, one folded across his chest and the other…or what was left of it, was laying at his side. 

The woman sat, staring at this arm. It was like any other arm until just above the elbow, where metal met flesh. The rest of the arm was like an uncovered droid, a metal frame holding together wires and circuits and whatnot. It was slightly a shock to see at first, but she tried to accept it. 

She carefully took the metallic hand in her own and gasped when it gripped back. 

The man's eyes slowly fluttered open. 

"Padmé? Is…Is that you? Where am I?" he muttered. In response, the woman threw back her hood and leaned down to kiss him. The taste of her sweet lips against his was like a wake up call. When she sat up, he was wearing a small smile. 

"You're on Coruscant. We arrived yesterday. How are you feeling, Ani?" she asked quietly. He sat up, exposing his torso. She blushed. 

"Better…now." Padmé smiled and squeezed his new hand. Anakin looked at the hand and his smiled faded. He raised the arm, letting go of her hand. He brought the hand close to his face and examined it. 

Anakin frowned. "It's ugly," he decided. 

"Don't say that," Padmé immediately responded. She entwined her fingers with his. "It's not…ugly." She softly kissed one of the fingers. "It's you. It's…beautiful." She blushed again. 

Anakin smirked and sighed. "Come here. I'm…cold." He invited her with opened arms and she slowly slid next to him and put her arms around his neck. She hoped he wouldn't feel her trembling as Anakin squeezed her to him. "I'm sorry. I just need to get used to it, I guess." Padmé nodded. 

"I spoke with Obi-Wan. He wants you to escort me home. How much longer do you need to rest?" she asked, raising a hand to cup his face. 

"Just one more day is all. I'll be ready. And then we could…" it was his turn to blush. "How is your back?" he asked, needing to change the subject. Padmé raised her top a bit to show her torso wrapped in white gauze. 

"I'm healing. It still hurts sometimes though. All that sand…" she lowered her top. 

Anakin slowly began to rub where the Nexu had racked her back and Padmé leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. 

A knock on the door caused Padmé to sit up, ruining their lovely moment. 

"That's Dormé. I have to go." She kissed his cheek and stood to leave. Padmé walked slowly to the door, not wanting to go. 

"Padmé?" She turned and Anakin blushed. "Thanks for loving me." 

----- ---- --- -- - 

The sleek Naboo royal cruiser rose from the Senatorial Apartment building landing platform, gleaming in the early morning light. It sped off, weaving between skyscrapers in little-used traffic lanes as it rose. It jumped almost immediately into hyperspace after breaking the atmosphere. 

"We can just leave it on autopilot for a while." Anakin pressed a few keys and swiveled his chair to face the autopilot controls. He punched in a code and pulled down the lever. 

Padmé leaned on her elbow at the center ridge of the cockpit. She watched the elongated stars and swirling blue of hyperspace. 

She sighed. The galaxy was at crossroads. The first full-scale war since the formation of the thousand year-old Republic was in progress. Everything that she had worked so hard to beat for a year was being realized. 

"Don't you hate not knowing?" she asked, still watching the stars speeding by. 

"What?" She sighed again. 

"Anything?" Anakin chuckled. 

"Yes. What has happened to this little galaxy of ours?" He shook his head and turned his gaze also to the outer space. 

"I don't know. And I don't know if there is anything I can do to stop Palpatine." Anakin gave her a side-ways glace. 

"What do you mean?" Padmé put down her arm and looked at him. 

"Haven't you noticed? He has gone from Senator to Chancellor to Emperor in a matter of years. It's almost like…like he's been planning to do this for a while now." Anakin narrowed his eyes. Of course he noticed. But he wasn't going to hold that against him. 

"Well, however it is, I still think he's a good man." Padmé frowned and shook her head. 

"You trust him too much." She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. Well, she knew there was at least one thing they disagreed on. 

----- ---- --- -- - 

Padmé and Anakin walked hand-in-hand down a narrow beach on the lake's shore. Naboo's night sky was filled with angry, dark clouds. There was a slight rumbling of thunder in the distance, but not a drop came down as of yet. 

Anakin stared distantly off at those clouds. He was mysteriously nervous all evening. He dropped his utensils often at dinner, and had trouble keeping eye contact with Padmé for very long. She had repeatedly asked what was wrong, but he would just shake his head and change the subject. 

She wouldn't let him this time. 

"Please tell me, Ani. What's wrong?" He looked down at her and looked back at the clouds. He had a certain look in his eyes. Was it…fright? 

"It's always hard to leave a place like this." He stated. Padmé looked down. 

"I know," she replied, with a bit of an angry bite in her words, showing her disappointment, "I leave here all the time." Anakin looked at her, surprised by her tone. He took a steadying breath, as if preparing for something. 

"Padmé…can I ask you something?" Anakin asked timidly. She looked up at him and smiled. Finally. 

"Anything." 

Suddenly, Anakin got down on one knee in the soft, damp sand. 

"Will you marry me?" 

…to be continued!!! 

Post note: okay, I lied. I want to see what you think of this first. REVIEW and I'll luf you forever.


	2. Getting Wet

**Walking in the Rain **

By infinitykat 

Part 2 

"I wanna be the ocean to your shore   
give you comfort evermore   
I wanna be the only thing you need   
be the oxygen you breathe" 

A/N: Thanks for the positive reviews (but not for the suicide threats- lol). I think I'll try to finish in this chapter – no joke. :D And oh yeah- what exactly is a fresher? I always say lavatory because I don't want to say bathroom and I don't want to say fresher because that's a shower in my mind. Can someone clear this up for me? Thanks. Again, the italics at the end are from the book. 

----- ---- --- -- - 

_I remember walking in the rain…rain was falling on my hands…_

Anakin swallowed nervously. Padmé had not said anything for a few moments, and those moments felt like hours. She just looked down at him, as if someone shot her with a stun ray. 

Suddenly, she smiled sweetly and took his face in her hands. "Of course I will." 

Anakin grinned. He stood, and spent a moment just looking at her. Padmé's smile grew wider and she leapt into his arms. He caught her and spun her around. 

After gently setting her down, Anakin laid such a kiss on Padmé, it was surprising he didn't come up for air sooner. When they did, he leaned his forehead against hers. Padmé could feel the heat in his face. 

"Ani," she breathed. 

"Yes, love?" 

"…It's raining." She held up a hand to demonstrate the gentle rain that was falling around them. He glanced up and closed his eyes, letting the drops take the redness from his cheeks. He looked back down at her and smirked. 

"I know." 

He slowly leaned in kissed her again. The rain started to come down harder, almost at a downpour. 

Anakin chuckled and reached for her hood. "I don't want you to catch cold." 

"I don't care." She replied automatically. 

"No, seriously, we should go inside." He pulled up his own hood and offered her his arm. Padmé took it and they began to slowly walk back towards the retreat. The rain was coming down even harder now. 

When they neared the steps up to the entry hall, they broke into a run to escape the downpour. The two burst into the main hall, their cloaks completely soaked. Anakin took a handful of his dark cloak and squeezed it. A good ounce of water splashed down on the stone floor. 

At this, Padmé began to laugh uncontrollably. Anakin joined her as he took another handful, squeezed, and this time got himself all wet. 

"C'mon," she breathed, between chuckles, "Let's dry off, I'm soaked." Padmé took Anakin's hand and led him to her bedchamber. Once there, Padmé took off her cloak and placed it on the trunk at the end of her bed. Anakin did the same and shook his head, spraying water everywhere. Padmé laughed. She gave him a quick kiss. 

"Wait here," she whispered. Anakin watched her cross the room and disappear into the lavatory. Anakin stared at the door Padmé just closed, a smile slowly forming on his face. He punched a first in the air, quietly celebrating with himself. The woman he had been in love with for the last ten years, the one he couldn't breathe without, had said she'd marry him. Almost everything that had gone wrong in his life went clear out of his mind. 

He was still smiling to himself as he took off the wet layers of clothing he wore. He was left with a thin undershirt and his trousers, which were reasonably dry. Anakin felt exhausted for every reason as he hung his clothing on a chair in the corner to dry. 

Anakin turned around and contently surveyed the room. A sense of warmth was flowing in it, from the fireplace that was crackling merrily on the opposite wall, the bed with its silver crushed velvet covering, and the gentle breeze coming from the open doorway that told of a storm gone calm. 

Anakin yawned, stretched, and climbed into bed. He really was truly tired. He was just drifting off to sleep when he heard the lavatory door open and Padmé walk quietly, obviously trying not to disturb him. She came around the end of the bed to the side opposite Anakin. He watched her take off her navy blue robe, revealing a white nightgown that gracefully fitted her. Padmé slipped into bed and loosely looped her arms around Anakin's neck, wearing a small smile. Her wavy brown hair tumbled down her back, and as she moved closer, he could faintly smell…what was it? Lavender? Anakin smiled to himself. Her beauty always seemed to amaze him. 

Padmé's smile faded a bit and Anakin could sense some kind of uneasiness in her. 

"Are you sure about this?" she asked softly. Anakin frowned. 

"What do you mean?" he replied, saying it slowly. She bit her lip. 

"Us. What about your commitment?" the question was vague, but he understood, though the idea of choosing between the Jedi and Padmé had been already fought and finished for the night. Actually, it had been driven clear out of his mind. 

Anakin thought for a moment, the word commitment bringing a string of words to mind. Jedi. Paths. The Chosen One. Destiny. All of it was something the Jedi held dear, and Anakin hated it. Though he could finish his training and be just another regular Jedi, those words would haunt him for the rest of his career. 

Then he thought of Padmé. The life he would have to live keeping their relationship a secret. A lie, he knew, but it didn't matter to him, as long as she was his. 

"I just need to know that you are mine," he replied softly. 

"I'm yours," she said, fingering his padawan braid, "You have me." Anakin smirked. 

"As for the Jedi…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say that wouldn't upset her. Anakin changed the subject. "What about you?" Padmé stopped playing with his braid and heaved a sigh. 

"I don't know. With the future so unclear… I have about a week to mull things over before the loyalist committee meets again, and then we have to work through all the…problems," she explained, and her eyes looked sad. "We won't be able to be together for a while…" 

"Tomorrow, then," Anakin said suddenly. 

"What?" Padmé looked surprised by the abrupt swing of the conversation. 

"Tomorrow. We'll get married tomorrow," he repeated, giving her his signature lop-sided smile. Padmé nodded. 

"Alright," she said with a resigned kind of smile, "But right now I'm exhausted. Good night." Anakin didn't respond, but gave her one of his looks and shifted towards her, closing the space between them. He kissed her. 

"Sweet dreams," Anakin said softly. 

----- ---- --- -- - 

Anakin woke with a start. He looked around, confused. He was dreaming of his mother again. Actually, it was a nightmarish reliving of the night she… Anakin tried to shake the thought from his mind. Instead, he looked over at Padmé, who was still asleep, and looking like she was having no problem in doing it. He remembered when he was merely protection, having to settle for her warm presence in the Force, instead of what he wanted, which was to lie next to her, watch the rising and falling of her belly, lose his fingers in her hair, taste the sweetness of her lips… he smiled to himself. Everything he could do now. 

It was already morning, and the sunlight was streaming down into the room, throwing bizarre highlights and shadows on his angel through the curtains. Anakin studied the way her hair was spread out over the sheet, the way she clutched the pillow, the way her nightgown's back scooped down low to expose most of her own. 

Not really registering the movement, Anakin began to walk his fingers up her back gently. Padmé stirred and opened an eye. She closed it again quickly, a small smile playing on her lips. His fingers continued to walk up, pausing to softly stroke her scars from the Geonosis arena. 

"Please don't do that," she whispered. Anakin smirked and spread his hand wide on her back, leaning in to kiss her. 

"Why not?" he asked softly. Padmé smiled at the memory of that day they left for Naboo, when she was still resistant to her heart. Though it was only a few weeks ago, it felt like an eternity. She mock-glared at him from her pillow and closed her eyes again. "Because I'm still asleep," she responded, and turned away from him. Anakin chuckled and rose out of bed. He walked around to Padmé's side and lowered himself to his knees in front of her. Anakin watched her for a few long moments, just taking her in. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. 

"I love you," he whispered. Padmé caught his hand and squeezed. 

"I love you too," she whispered back, and let go of his hand. 

Later, Padmé awoke, being brought back to awareness by a soft breeze coming from the open window. She sat up and yawned, looking around for Anakin. Finding that he wasn't in the room, Padmé wandered to the doorway that led to the balcony. At least she started too, and, realizing the room was rather chilly, picked up her robe from the floor. As she pulled it on, Padmé noticed something on the floor where her robe was and she bent down to pick it up. 

And stopped. Lying on the floor was a small, square trinket with an intricate design craved into it, hanging from a rough, tethered lanyard. Padmé carefully took it in her hands. She felt the trinket with a delicate finger and smiled. She pulled the necklace over her head and, holding it close to her heart, went to the doorway. 

Anakin was out there, obviously meditating. Padmé leaned against the doorframe and tilted her head. Husband? No, Jedi. Padmé shook her head in disbelief. She was in love with a Jedi. One that couldn't be able to love her, but he did anyway. For a while, she acted as though she had restraints, which she didn't, and he acted as though he didn't, but he did. It scared her sometimes, knowing someone so powerful needed her so much. 

Padmé slowly approached him, and he looked like he was shivering. Anakin sniffled, and she realized he was silently crying. She picked up speed and lightly put a hand on his back when she reached him. He stiffened. 

"Ani?" she asked quietly, "Are you alright?" Anakin glanced back at her and she could see the tears dried on his face. Anakin turned back to staring off at the mountains. He didn't reply for a few moments. 

"I…I dreamed about my mother again last night," he said finally. Padmé wrapped him in her arms from behind. She got up on her toes and kissed his cheek. 

"I sorry," she whispered. Anakin shook his head and sank to his knees. He was crying hard now, and Padmé pulled him close. 

"Shh…" she cooed, "I was only a dream…I'm here…" Anakin shook his head again. 

"There's so many things I want to tell her…" said Anakin, "And she would have loved you and you could have loved her…" He shook his head again and buried his face against the softness of her breast. Padmé gently stroked his hair. 

"Dwelling on the past won't change anything," she said softly. So they sat, he weeping and she comforting him. 

After a while, his crying subsided and he sat up, wiping his eyes, trying to regain his composure. Anakin brought his knees up to his chest hung his head. 

"You're right," he said, looking at Padmé, "I should be mindful of the present, not the past." Padmé nodded and pulled him closer. She slowly leaned in to kiss him, but Anakin glanced down and pulled back suddenly. 

"What's wrong?" she asked uncertainly. Anakin reached towards her and held the trinket he had made in his hand. He smirked and felt it with his mechanical thumb. 

"You still have this," he said quietly. Padmé smiled. 

"Or course I do." She leaned in and kissed him. 

----- ---- --- -- - 

_On distant Naboo, in a rose-covered arbor overlooking the sparkling lake, Anakin and Padmé stood hand in hand, Anakin in his formal Jedi robes and Padmé in a beautiful white gown with flowered trim. Anakin's new mechanical arm hung at his side, the fingers clenching and unclenching in reflexive movements. _

Before them stood a Naboo holy man, his hands raised above their heads as he recited the ancient texts of marriage. And when the proclamation was made, R2-D2 and C-3PO, bearing witness to the union, whistled and clapped. 

And Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala shared their first kiss as husband and wife. 

The two turned to look over that sparkling lake, thinking about what they had just done. What had they just done? Defy everything else for their own desires. The thought passed, though. Anakin looked back at Padmé, slowly grinning. It was official. She was his. Only his. Padmé, feeling his gaze, turned towards him, a small smile playing on her lips. He suddenly reached down and picked her up. Padmé let a small gasp of surprise escape her lips, then giggled. 

She reached up and held on by Anakin's neck. He passed the droids and Threepio turned to him, and if he had muscles, he probably wore a confused expression. 

"Where're you going, Master Anakin? Miss Padmé?" 

"See you later, Threepio!" Anakin called over his shoulder. Artoo whistled and squawked as if laughing, and began to roll away in the opposite direction. 

"Wait!" Threepio called, beginning to waddle after Artoo, "Wait for me, Artoo!" 

In Padmé's bed chamber, Anakin gently put her down on the bed. As he leaned down towards her, unfastening his cloak, a memory of his mother floated up through his mind, making him smile. 

"Now you can make all your dreams come true, Ani." 

And in a way, he had. 

THE END 

Post note: I kind of cut that shorter than it was supposed to be, but I think it was for the better. REVIEW! Read my other stuff! 


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